Links? I’ll show you some links!
• The latest Don Perata story concerned money he took from his own ballot campaign account into his legal defense fund. He’s entitled to do that for the time being, but the Fair Political Practices Commission is considering new rules to strengthen the campaign finance laws around these kinds of accounts. I think “abolished” might be a good way to go for these slush funds.
• Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has a pretty cool tribute to Martin Luther King on his website today, on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Eight elected officials in LA County answer the question, “What is the significance of this year’s Martin Luther King Day to you?”
• New Rep. Duncan Hunter, following in the legacy of his father, is whining about potential Guantanamo detainees behind held temporarily at Camp Pendleton. He claims their presence would “distract” the Marines there. Considering these detainees have been held in what amounts to a concentration camp and tortured, I think “distraction” is but a small price to pay.
• On yesterday’s SCHIP vote, which passed resoundingly in the House, Hunter joined most California Republicans in voting against medical care for children. Only Mary Bono Mack defied her Republican counterparts.
• The CBP blog thinks we should look at enterprise zone programs as a good place to start cutting the budget. A new study by the PPIC claims they are completely ineffective. I’m all for eliminating useless tax breaks.
• There is a Los Angeles municipal election on March 3, and the only race worth following is a crowded contest for Jack Weiss’ old city council seat. Six candidates (including progressive former Assemblyman Paul Koretz) all raised roughly the same amount of money in the last quarter.
• This is a pretty big ruling for environmentalists, as an Australian firm has bowed to pressure and scrapped their plans for an LNG terminal off of Santa Monica Bay.
• And then there’s the story about the California man who tried to sell his 14 year-old daughter into marriage for cash, beer and meat, and then attempted to have the groom arrested when he wouldn’t pay up. Hey, I didn’t know that the dowry was back in fashion!